In the Land of the Dragon
by Demon of Shadows
Summary: Lara Croft journies to Japan to retrieve a powerful artifact.


(Disclaimer: I do not own Tomb Raider (the movie) or any of the games, for they are  
  
property of Core Design. I do own Sekai and all those weird, ancient weapons that you  
  
have yet to hear of. This takes place approximately 3 years after the Tomb Raider movie,  
  
in Japan.)  
  
  
  
The air in the teahouse cellar smelled strongly of herbs ground together too many  
  
times and a much more faint scent of recently polished wood. Lady Lara Croft knelt on a  
  
woven mat inside the cellar of the teahouse. She looked nothing like she normally would,  
  
which was because she was currently in disguise. She wore a short, creamy white silk  
  
kimono that came to just above mid-thigh with cherry blossom patterns woven into it.  
  
Her hair was elegantly piled upon her head, twisted into a series of French braids. With  
  
the clever use of makeup her face had been completely altered, the most skilled scanning  
  
systems couldn't penetrate her disguise. Beneath the kimono, she wore her usual outfit:  
  
black hot pants and a black sports bra. She was currently barefoot, her combat boots and  
  
her guns were hidden in an old-looking crate in the corner. She was waiting for a certain  
  
man to step through the door into the cellar. That man was in possession of the means to  
  
get to a Japanese Artifact Lara had been after for the past three months. Normally Lara  
  
wouldn't be getting the item in this way, but the other option was to go up against a small  
  
army of ace bodyguards. The person she was about to meet, Muto Kamahi, according to  
  
the secure files Bryce had easily hacked into, visited this particular teahouse at 3:17 p.m.  
  
local time every day, rain or shine. He didn't come to visit this place for the tea, but for  
  
the prostitution ring run and performed in the cellar. Lara had watched Muto Kamahi for  
  
a week to make sure of his schedule, before doing more research on the teahouse. She  
  
had found out the prostitute Muto Kamahi had visited most and, after paying the  
  
prostitute a handsome sum of 1 Million Yen to take the day off, she had assumed the  
  
identity of the prostitute. Lara carried no weapons on her person, save for a combat knife  
  
hidden perfectly in the hem of her kimono, just in case things got ugly. She was alone in  
  
the cellar, so she reached inside her kimono and withdrew her tiny communicator,  
  
hooking it over her ear. "How's it look Bryce?" She said softly into the microphone.  
  
Bryce, who was currently set up in a hotel next to the teahouse, with a perfect view of the  
  
road, replied, "Nothing yet…wait! There's a convoy pulling up: a pair of Black SUV's  
  
and a black limo pulling up…five men getting out of the limo. Four heavily armed  
  
bodyguards…and Muto Kamahi, now proceeding into the teahouse. I can see at least four  
  
more bodyguards, heavily armed, in each of the SUV's." Bryce said. "Ok, I can hear  
  
them. You and Alex be prepared to come to my rescue, if need be." Lara said before  
  
slipping the communicator into her kimono again.  
  
* * *  
  
Alex West emerged from the bathroom in the spacious hotel penthouse suite they  
  
used for their surveillance purposes. "I see our guest's have arrived." Alex said shortly.  
  
After the whole Illuminati matter, Alex and Lara had made up and gone into business  
  
together. "Duh." Bryce was sitting at the massive oak table, which was now covered with  
  
computer gear. A total of fourteen micro-camera's were set up outside the hotel and the  
  
surrounding area, which fed a direct feed to his computers. Bryce was no longer the  
  
weak, sniveling computer geek he had been during the Illuminati incident. He had finally  
  
taken Lara's advice and gone to the gym. He was now extremely fit, and had enough  
  
foresight to take weapons training. His personal weapon, a silver-plated DY .357  
  
magnum revolver, was rarely out of his reach at any time of the day. Even now, it was  
  
securely in place in a black nylon quick-draw holster strapped to his right thigh. "You  
  
think we'll have any problems?" Alex said, leaning over Bryce's shoulder to stare at the  
  
screens. "If we do, I brought the wake-up call." Bryce said with a slight smirk. He  
  
withdrew a small device that resembled a garage door opener from his belt and set it on  
  
the table. "Eh?" Alex said. "Don't worry about it." Bryce said.  
  
* * *  
  
Lara sat back against the wall of the cellar as the pudgy Muto Kamahi, squeezed  
  
into a Brooks Brothers suit three sizes too small, waddled down the stairs. Lara had her  
  
legs spread, luring the man in close. Kamahi reached into a pocket inside his suit jacket  
  
and withdrew a condom. Lara caught a glimpse of what she had come for, a golden  
  
pendant in the shape of the sun dangling on a silver chain. Lara waited until the pudgy  
  
bugger got within kicking range, then firmly swung both of her feet into Kamahi's groin.  
  
With a weak cry of pain, Kamahi doubled over. Lara reached over and grabbed Kamahi  
  
by the throat, sending him flying headfirst into the wall. She knelt on his back as she  
  
removed Kamahi's tie and used it to tie his hands. She then used the handkerchief in  
  
Kamahi's breast pocket to effectively gag him. Lara shrugged of the kimono and was  
  
once again in her combat gear. She removed the knife from her kimono and used it to pry  
  
open the crate in the corner. She removed her socks and combat boots from the crate and  
  
pulled them on, lacing her boots securely. She removed her holstered guns next from the  
  
crate and strapped them to her thighs. She hooked her communicator over her ear again  
  
and slid her pack on before removing the pendant from around Kamahi's neck and  
  
slipping it into her pack. She crouch-walked carefully up the stairs, hands on her guns.  
  
She opened the trapdoor that led from the cellar into the main room and looked out. She  
  
put one hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh. Kamahi's bodyguards were drunk,  
  
EXTREMELY drunk. So drunk, they were passed out where they were standing. They  
  
should be no problem, Lara thought silently. She withdrew her guns from their holsters  
  
and dove through the doorway. Instantly the guard's snapped awake and aimed their  
  
weapons, M-16 assault rifles with grenade launchers slung underneath the barrel, at Lara.  
  
"Oops." Lara said. "Bryce, I could use some help here…." Lara said softly into her  
  
communicator. "Roger that." Bryce said. He turned to Alex and said, "Lets move!" Alex  
  
nodded and opened a large trunk. He withdrew a pair of black Sub-Uzi's and stuck them  
  
in holsters strapped to his thighs. He then withdrew an MP-5 and, after checking the clip,  
  
slung it over his shoulder. He finally withdrew a Riot Shotgun and cradled it in his arms.  
  
"Dear god Alex! You're worse than Lara!" Bryce quipped. Bryce stated he needed only  
  
his DY .357 magnum, spare ammo, and the 'wake-up call'. The two of them left the hotel  
  
via the fire escape and descended into the alley. Alex peered around the corner of the  
  
teahouse and blanched. The spare bodyguards, clad in full body armor and carrying  
  
heavy weapons such as MP-5's, Grenade Launchers, and Desert Eagles, were heading  
  
into the teahouse. "Shit!" Alex exulted. He was about to rush inside, guns blazing, when  
  
Bryce stopped him. Bryce lifted the device that resembled a garage door opener from his  
  
belt and pressed the button. Alex heard a rhythmically thudding noise, coming from  
  
above them. He looked up and glimpsed a silver object the size of a small car racing  
  
down the side of the hotel. When it got close enough for Alex to identify it, it abruptly  
  
somersaulted down, landing amidst a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, Alex  
  
recognized Simon, the robot Lara exercised with. He was immensely upgraded, his body  
  
sleeker, the armor heavier, and more guns. "Simon, go stop the buggers from killing  
  
Lara!" Bryce ordered. Simon's electric eye moved up and down, indicating he  
  
understood. Simon then bounded into the teahouse, followed closely by Bryce and Alex.  
  
The firefight lasted, accorded to Bryce's digital watch, seven minutes. It ended with  
  
Simon riddled with bullet holes, Lara with a bullet wound in the arm, Alex with a broken  
  
leg, and Bryce unscathed. The bodyguards were dead, and Muto Kamahi was sitting on  
  
his fat ass in the cellar, waiting to be rescued. "Come Lara, Alex, we got to get out of  
  
here before the police comes." Bryce said, helping them out of the teahouse.  
  
* * *  
  
Scarcely three minutes after the threesome left, a figure walked through the ruined  
  
front door of the teahouse. He was an odd sight, he was clad in the traditional black Ninja  
  
Gi, but he wore Combat gear, such as a black Utility Belt and combat boots. A sheathed  
  
katana was strapped to his back, but in his belt were weapons such as a Desert Eagle, a  
  
combat knife, and spare ammo clips. Other items, such as night-vision goggles, digital  
  
binoculars, and a high-tech mini-computer, were also stuck in his belt. The only visible  
  
part of his body were his eyes, since the rest of his body were covered by clothing. The  
  
figure walked through the carnage, stepping over corpses and down into the cellar. He  
  
grabbed Muto Kamahi by the collar and dragged him to his feet before speaking in a  
  
menacing, distinctly male voice, "Where is the key?" Kamahi made a muffled noise, then  
  
the figure yanked down the handkerchief so he could speak. "She took it! Lara Croft stole  
  
the key!" Kamahi blurted. "Thank you." The figure said. He slammed Kamahi back  
  
against the wall. "Who are you?" Kamahi asked as the figure walked away. "My name is  
  
Sekai, and nothing personal, but I must kill you now." Sekai said. He spun around and  
  
leveled his Desert Eagle. His shot blew Kamahi's brains apart and splattered them on the  
  
wall. Sekai walked calmly out of the teahouse and down the street, turning the corner just  
  
as the police arrived. "Lady Lara Croft, you have no idea what you've gotten yourself  
  
into." Sekai said.  
  
(To be Continued) 


End file.
